The Lost Kids

To my delight I discovered this illuminating podcast (the 1996 Oklahoma bombing) narrated by The New Yorker writer, Jeffery Toobin. He dives deep into what incited Timothy McVeigh to mass murder and maim innocents...and connects the decades-long (and tolerated) violent history of America’s White Supremacy movement and its alarming growth. Anticipating the ongoing series!

Very well researched podcast. Great information that everyone should know so they don’t think sending their kids to one of these “schools” will help. Then the producers couldn’t help themselves and start to bash Republicans for supporting the schools. Was Princess Diana a registered Republican? Anyway Synanon is the source of their philosophy and counted many celebs among their supporters. In short, listen through episode 4, it’s great. Then episode 5 it takes a sharp left turn, if you get my meaning.

This is a compelling true crime story of lives altered by an industry that purports to “save” children, but obviously does not. In addition to the young people forced into these communities, their parents are victims, too. Not only by CEDA, but also by, in this case, the private investigator that took many thousands of dollars in exchange for empty promises. And we should not forget the siblings who not only lost a brother or sister for weeks, months, years, or forever, but lost the attentive parents they deserved.

I attended Rocky Mountain Academy 94-97, Ascent in 94, Explorations in Montana, Amity in Arezzo, Italy and SUWS in South Idaho. These programs used highly abusive psychological tactics to exploit families and take their money. I was in these programs from the age of 13-17. These programs acted as safe and isolated places for adult abusers to prey on children and act out on verbal, physical and sexual abuse of children. It took years for me to recover from the damage these programs caused. Unfortunately for many, they would not recover. The rates of suicide and drug overdoses of people who were forced into these programs is unbelievable.